Iranian military vows to fight US and Israel ‘until complete victory’ (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)
Iran maintains a “powerful” military and will fight the US and Israel “until complete victory,” the spokesman for the top Iranian military command, Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi, has insisted.
US President Donald Trump earlier suggested that the Strait of Hormuz could be “open very soon” if diplomatic talks go well with Iran. Tehran, however, has dismissed reports of having any discussions with Washington, with high-ranking MP Yaghoub Rezazadeh calling the US leader’s claims “psychological warfare” and an act of desperation after realizing his inability to defeat Iran.
Following Trump’s promised reprieve, Brent oil prices plunged more than 13%, but soon rebounded to over $100 on Iran’s rejection.
In addition, a gas pressure regulation station in the Iranian city of Isfahan and a gas pipeline to the Khorramshahr power plant were both reportedly damaged on Monday – although it remains unclear whether the strikes came before or after Trump said he had called off US strikes targeting Iranian energy facilities for at least five days.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that while his “friend” Trump seeks to “leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military” in potential talks, Israel is “continuing to strike” both Iran and Lebanon to keep up the pressure.
Trump upped the ante over the weekend, threatening strikes on Iranian energy facilities if Tehran did not lift its threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, to which Iran responded by publishing a list of power stations and energy facilities across the Gulf that it would target.
Here are the latest developments:
- Former IRGC commander Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr has been appointed the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on March 17.
- The IRGC responded to Trump’s claims of talks being underway between Washington and Tehran by saying that it is “negotiating with the vile, child-killing aggressors through impact-driven operations.”
- Lebanon has declared Iranian envoy Mohammad Reza Shibani persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country until Sunday over what Beirut called violations of diplomatic norms by Tehran.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
24 March 2026
18:46 GMTThis is the end of the Live Updates. Please follow our next Live Updates page here.
- 18:12 GMT
Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 36%, its lowest level since he returned to office for a second presidential term, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
The poll showed a drop from 40% in the previous week, amid rising fuel prices and growing disapproval of the war with Iran.
Support for American strikes on Iran also declined, with 35% approving and 61% disapproving, the poll found.
Public sentiment regarding the cost of living has deteriorated, with only 25% approving of Trump's handling of the issue. This disapproval comes as petrol and gasoline prices have increased following the US strikes on Iran, which have caused disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
- 18:11 GMT
The Pentagon is expected to send thousands of troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not specify the exact location where the troops would be deployed or when they were expected to arrive in the region.
- 17:38 GMT
The state of US-Iran talks is a “fluid situation,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt has said when asked about the possibility of the US participating in talks in Pakistan.
Earlier on Monday, Trump said that Washington would halt strikes against Iran for five days due to the supposed talks. Tehran, however, denied any negotiations have taken place.
”This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House,” Leavitt said.
- 17:16 GMT
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara is trying to establish peace between Iran on the one hand, and the US and Israel on the other, saying the Turkish economy and the whole world have been severely impacted.
He also said the government is considering various measures to protect the economy from the war, which has engulfed the region and sent energy prices soaring.
- 16:46 GMT
Hezbollah has called the decision by Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a “sin,” and demanded the authorities “immediately reverse” the move.
The Foreign Ministry earlier gave the Iranian diplomat until Sunday to leave the country.
- 16:16 GMT
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for peace talks as soon as possible in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, according to a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Wang added that “all hotspot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, not by using force.”
Araghchi, in turn, told Wang that “the Iranian side is committed to achieving a comprehensive end to the conflict, not just a temporary ceasefire,” and thanked China for its humanitarian assistance.
- 15:44 GMT
France has urged Israel to refrain from sending troops into southern Lebanon. Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot told AFP on Tuesday that such actions would have “major humanitarian consequences and would exacerbate the country’s already dire situation.”
- 15:37 GMT
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojataba Khamenei has not agreed to any negotiations with the US, an informed source in Iran has told RT, denying rumors being spread by Israeli media.
Israeli news outlet Ynet had previously claimed that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had secretly conveyed such a message to US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.
